


In Another Dream

by Pharetra



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Good Dudley Dursley, Good Dursley Family, Good Petunia Dursley, Magical Dudley Dursley, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 07:15:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11664243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pharetra/pseuds/Pharetra
Summary: Another way things could have been, in an infinite universe.A Petunia who has gained maturity in the years her sister has been gone.





	In Another Dream

**Author's Note:**

  * For [diddleymaz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/diddleymaz/gifts).



> Prompt fill for _diddleymaz_ : Good!Dursleys (well, except Vernon) and Magic!Dudley.
> 
> I enjoyed writing this. I think this is some of my better short-story writing, and I didn't expect that to happen at all.
> 
> Music to accompany: _In the End_ from The Boy Who Cried Wolf by Passenger

# In Another Dream

###  _By Pharetra_

On a chilly autumn eve, at a perfectly normal house in a perfectly normal street, a baby boy was placed on the doorstep in decidedly abnormal circumstances. A thin woman, baggy-eyed from caring for her own child, keeping the house, and arguing with her husband for hours, opened the front door to investigate several loud popping noises from outside. Seeing nothing, she was about to close the door with a sigh, when a small mewl coming from her feet made her pause. There, on the top step but hidden in the shadows, lay a crib in which slept a child which appeared a similar age to her own, with a sealed letter settled on the pale red blanket.

That night, Petunia cried for the loss of her younger sister in a war she did not understand, and the impending collapse of the marriage she had worked so hard to salvage. She wasn’t stupid; she knew that this new child, this final legacy of her dear sister, would be the straw to break an already fragile marital truce.

* * *

The first time Dudley had displayed accidental magic (for she wasn’t going to pretend it wasn’t what it was), it was a bittersweet moment. A reminder of what she would never be, what had caused the resentment that levered the sisters apart. But it turned out that having a child, her own flesh and blood no less, who would unavoidably be part of that world, proved a catharsis. Petunia had dearly hoped her Dudley could be the catalyst to mend the broken trust with the sister who had been her everything in childhood.

Vernon, however, had had other ideas. When the impossible occurrences around their baby became too much to shrug off, she had sat him down and told him all about her sister. He had been angry to have been lied to, which was understandable, but his insistence that it was her fault that his son was turning into a ‘freak’ was less so. Now, short weeks later, Petunia was considering filing for divorce, given the unsavoury changes in her husband’s behaviour. He’d been angry, and broken things, and looked at her and her baby with a savage expression that made her fear for their safety for the first time.

A black-haired innocent child, unwitting pawn in a terrifying hidden war changed things. There was no point resenting it; she had two toddlers to look after while keeping them safe from the man she had so recently loved and trusted. She set her mind stubbornly with the responsibility, and the tired woman smiled with melancholy when she realised just how like Lily she was acting. Good. Now she had to be strong for them both.

* * *

“Mum! Mum! Our letters are here!” yelled a dirty-blond-haired boy, thundering through the door and into the kitchen of the modest apartment.

“Really?” squeaked his shorter black-haired brother, jumping from his chair at the kitchen counter, cereal forgotten in his excitement.

“Now, now, boys! No running inside, Dudley, darling. And finish your breakfast, Harry. You may open your letter when you finish,” smiled their mother. Age sat in her skin, far more than a decade earlier, but happiness took away just as many years. No longer pinched in stress, her smile was wide and proud for her two kids. She knew for sure they would both remember this day for all their lives, just as she remembered the day her fiery sister received the same letter. No longer did jealousy sit uneasily in her chest. Instead she blinked away a wistful tear and knelt down to embrace Harry.

“Your mother would be so proud of you if she could see you now, you know. _I’m_ so proud of you, darling. You’ll blow them all away,” she whispered.

* * *

Weeks later, during which wands had been purchased, uniforms fitted, and a scarlet train boarded, her little ones’ first letters home arrived.

> Mum,
> 
> You’ll never guess, the Hat sorted me into Gryffindor! Our mascot is a gold lion, and the tower (that’s where the dorms are) are decorated all in red and gold, it’s properly grand! I’ve made friends with another boy in my dorm, he’s called Ron. He tried to turn his pet rat yellow on the train, but I think his brothers tricked him with the spell. Got to go, I’ve got a foot and a half due for potions tomorrow. Professor Snape is scary!
> 
> Lots of love,  
>  Dudley
> 
> P.S. I’ll make sure to keep an eye on Harry, but he seems to be doing great. I’m glad he’s made friends, even if he’s in a different house.

 

> Hello Ma,
> 
> I’m doing well. When I got here, people were pointing and staring at me, but Dee took care of them, he’s the best. I made friends (on my own!) with a girl called Hermione (I had to check how to spell it) and a boy called Neville on the train, they’re really nice, even if Hermione doesn’t know when to stop talking a bit. I’m writing this while we study together in the library.
> 
> At the feast, I was worried that my birth parents wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t get into Gryffindor, but Dee helped. He even stopped a boy called Draco from being mean to me! But yeah, the hat said I would do much better in Hufflepuff. I was worried about being away from Dee, but so far my new house has been great! The common room is next to the kitchens, it’s warm and comfy, and everyone is really friendly. Even when Professor Snape who teaches potions took points away from me for no reason, the other Hufflepuffs didn’t blame me. He seemed surprised at me. I don’t know why.
> 
> By the way, Hermione’s in Ravenclaw and Neville’s here with me in Hufflepuff. I’m sure Dee’s told you all about Gryffindor already. His friend Ron is a bit loud, but not too bad.
> 
> I’ll write again soon,  
>  Harry

Petunia didn’t bother to stifle her sob of relief. She had been so worried for the boys, especially Harry. He was such a gentle, sensitive boy, not at all ready for celebrity. Hufflepuff would be good for him.

She carefully folded the letters, and placed them in the solid wooden box she’d bought for the purpose, before returning it to a high shelf, next to another, much older one. Some days, with her children away at school, she would take it down, and read through her sister’s innocent letters home. It hit Petunia when she was alone, like now, the sorrow at never having apologised and made good with Lily before her death. As always, she turned her thoughts to Harry instead. Lily was gone, but her child was not. She would make it up to him.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> I have a writing Tumblr: **[Pharetra Writes](http://pharetra-writes.tumblr.com)**
> 
> Prompt me, or ask me anything!


End file.
